|
Rashōmon
is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as various people who describe how a samurai was murdered in a forest, the plot and characters are based upon Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s short story "In a Grove", with the title and framing story being based on "Rashōmon", another short story by Akutagawa. Every element is largely identical, from the murdered samurai speaking through a Shinto psychic to the bandit in the forest, the monk, the assault of the wife and the dishonest retelling of the events in which everyone shows his or her ideal self by lying. The film is known for a plot device that involves various characters providing subjective, alternative and contradictory versions of the same incident. ''Rashomon'' was the first Japanese film to receive a significant international receptio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rashōmon (short Story)
is a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa based on tales from the ''Konjaku Monogatarishū''. The story was first published in 1915 in ''Teikoku Bungaku''. Akira Kurosawa's film ''Rashomon'' (1950) is in fact based primarily on another of Akutagawa's short stories, "In a Grove"; only the film's title and some of the material for the frame scenes, such as the theft of a kimono and the discussion of the moral ambiguity of thieving to survive, are borrowed from "Rashōmon". Plot summary The story recounts the encounter between a servant and an old woman in the dilapidated Rashōmon, the southern gate of the then-ruined city of Kyoto, where unclaimed corpses were sometimes dumped. The current name of the gate in the story, but not the plot, comes from the Noh play ''Rashōmon'' (c. 1420). The man, a lowly servant recently fired, is contemplating whether to starve to death or to become a thief to survive in the barren times. He goes upstairs, after noticing some firelight there, and e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rajōmon
, also called , was the gate built at the southern end of the monumental Suzaku Avenue in the ancient Japanese cities of Heijō-kyō (Nara) and Heian-kyō (Kyoto), in accordance with the Chinese grid-patterned city layout. At the other far north-end of Suzaku Avenue, one would reach the Suzakumon Gate, the main entrance to the palace zone. , the southern end of Suzaku Avenue and the possible remainder of the equivalent gate in Fujiwara-kyō (Kashihara) are yet to be discovered. Name The gate's name in modern Japanese is ''Rajōmon''. ''Rajō'' (羅城) refers to city walls and ''mon'' (門) means "gate," so ''Rajōmon'' signifies the main city gate. Originally, this gate was known as ''Raseimon'' or ''Raiseimon'', using alternate readings for the kanji in the name. The name ''Rashōmon'', using the kanji 羅生門 (which can also be read ''Raseimon''), was popularized by a noh play Rashōmon (c.1420) written by Kanze Nobumitsu (1435–1516). The modern name, ''Rajōmon'', us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
, art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He committed suicide at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital. Early life Ryūnosuke Akutagawa was born in Irifune, Kyōbashi, Tokyo City (present-day Akashi, Chūō, Tokyo), the eldest son of businessman Toshizō Niihara and his wife Fuku. His family owned a milk production business. His mother experienced a mental illness shortly after his birth, so he was adopted and raised by his maternal uncle, Dōshō Akutagawa, from whom he received the Akutagawa family name. He was interested in classical Chinese literature from an early age, as well as in the works of Mori Ōgai and Natsume Sōseki. He entered the First High School in 1910, developing relationships with classmates such as Kan Kikuchi, Kume Masao, Yūzō Yamamoto, and , all of whom would later become ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In A Grove
, also translated as ''In a Bamboo Grove'', is a Japanese short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa first published in 1922. It was ranked as one of the "10 best Asian novels of all time" by ''The Telegraph'' in 2014. ''In a Grove'' has been adapted several times, most notably by Akira Kurosawa for his award-winning 1950 film ''Rashōmon''. The story centers on the violent death of young samurai Kanazawa no Takehiro, whose body has been found in a bamboo forest near Kyoto. The preceding events unfurl in a series of testimonies, first by passers-by, an auxiliary policeman and a relative, then by the three main protagonists – the samurai, his wife Masago, and bandit Tajōmaru – but the truth remains hidden due to the contradictory recounts given. Plot The story opens with testimonies given to a police commissioner. The first account is by a woodcutter who has found a man's body in the bamboo groves near the road to Yamashina. The man's chest had been pierced by a sword, and the bloo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kazuo Miyagawa
was a Japanese cinematographer. Career Born in Kyoto, Miyagawa was taken with sumi-e Chinese ink painting from the age of eleven and began to sell his work as an illustrator while a teenager. He became interested in the cinema during the 1920s, particularly admiring the German Expressionist silents. He joined the Nikkatsu film company in 1926 after graduating from Kyoto Commercial School. He began as a laboratory technician before becoming an assistant cameraman. Miyagawa is best known for his tracking shots, particularly those in ''Rashomon'' (1950), the first of his three collaborations with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. The other films with Kurosawa were ''Yojimbo'' (1961) and ''Kagemusha'' (1980). He also worked on multiple films directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, including ''Ugetsu'' (1953), but only on a single Yasujirō Ozu production, ''Floating Weeds'' (1959). He oversaw 164 cameramen for Kon Ichikawa's ''Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), a documentary which necessitated the development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Lion
The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a second Golden Lion was introduced; this is an honorary award for people who have made an important contribution to cinema. The prize was introduced in 1949 as the Golden Lion of Saint Mark (which was one of the best known symbols of the ancient Republic of Venice). In 1954, the prize was permanently named Golden Lion. Previously, the equivalent prize was the ''Gran Premio Internazionale di Venezia'' (Grand International Prize of Venice), awarded in 1947 and 1948. Before that, from 1934 until 1942, the highest awards were the '' Coppa Mussolini'' (Mussolini Cup) for Best Italian Film and Best Foreign Film. History The prize was first awarded in 1949. Previously, the equivalent prize was the Gran Premio Internazional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoru Chiaki
was a Japanese actor who appeared in eleven of Akira Kurosawa's films, including ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ''The Hidden Fortress''. He was also one of Kon Ichikawa's favorite actors. He attended, but did not graduate from, Chuo University. Later in his career, he appeared as a secondary actor in many Toei films. In 1986, he was given the Best Actor prize at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his performance in Toei's '' Gray Sunset'' (1985). He died of cardiac and pulmonary failure at age 82. His son Katsuhiko Sasaki is also an actor. Filmography Film *'' Stray Dog'' (1949) - Girlie Show director *''Rashōmon'' (1950) - Priest *''Nanairo no hana'' (1950) - Tahei Izumi *''Koi no Oranda-zaka'' (1951) - Suekichi *''The Idiot'' (1951) - Mutsuo Kayama, the secretary *''Araki Mataemon: Kettô kagiya no tsuji'' (1952) *''Mōjū tsukai no shōjo'' (1952) *''Bijo to touzoku'' (1952) - Takeichi no Takamaru *''Kyô wa kaisha no gekkyûbi'' (1952) - ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rashomon Effect
The Rashomon effect is a storytelling and writing method in cinema in which an event is given contradictory interpretations or descriptions by the individuals involved, thereby providing different perspectives and points of view of the same incident. The term, derived from the 1950 Japanese film ''Rashomon'', is used to describe the phenomenon of the unreliability of eyewitnesses. Effect The effect is named after Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film ''Rashomon'', in which a murder is described in four contradictory ways by four witnesses. The term addresses the motives, mechanism, and occurrences of the reporting on the circumstance and addresses contested interpretations of events, the existence of disagreements regarding the evidence of events, and subjectivity versus objectivity in human perception, memory, and reporting. The Rashomon effect has been defined in a modern academic context as "the naming of an epistemological framework—or ways of thinking, knowing, and remembering—re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Films Considered The Best
This is a list of films considered the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public. Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffer from biases such as self-selection or skewed demographics, while others may be susceptible to forms of interference such as vote stacking. Critics and filmmakers ''Sight and Sound'' Every decade, starting in 1952, the British film magazine ''Sight and Sound'' asks an international group of film critics to vote for the greatest film of all time. Since 1992, they have invited directors to vote in a separate poll. Sixty-three critics participated in 1952, 70 critics in 1962, 89 critics in 1972, 122 critics in 1982, 132 critics and 101 directors in 1992, 145 critics and 108 directors in 2002, 846 critics and 358 directors in 2012, and 1639 critics and 480 directors in 2022. The ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They had high prestige and special privileges such as wearing two swords and ''Kiri-sute gomen'' (right to kill anyone of a lower class in certain situations). They cultivated the '' bushido'' codes of martial virtues, indifference to pain, and unflinching loyalty, engaging in many local battles. Though they had predecessors in earlier military and administrative officers, the samurai truly emerged during the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1185 to 1333. They became the ruling political class, with significant power but also significant responsibility. During the 13th century, the samurai proved themselves as adept warriors against the invading Mongols. During the peaceful Edo period (1603 to 1868), they became the stewards and chamberlains of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
24th Academy Awards
The 24th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1952, honoring the films of 1951. The ceremony was hosted by Danny Kaye. ''An American in Paris'' and '' A Place in the Sun'' each received six Oscars, splitting Best Picture and Best Director, respectively. ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' won four Oscars, including three of the four acting awards for which it was nominated. The film's only unsuccessful acting nomination was that of Marlon Brando, whose performance as Stanley Kowalski was later considered one of the most influential of modern film acting. Humphrey Bogart was the last man born in the 19th century to win Best Actor. ''An American in Paris'' became the second color film to win Best Picture, and was the first film since ''Grand Hotel'' to win Best Picture without any acting nominations. Awards Nominations were announced on February 11, 1952. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface. Academy Honorary Award * Gene Kelly for "his versatility as an acto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Two types of Japanese script emerged, including katakana, a phonetic script which was abbreviated into hiragana, a cursive alphabet with a unique writing method distinctive to Japan. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court women who were not as educated in Chinese compared to their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
